1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for disclosing images. Particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method capable of preventing images from being disclosed to persons more than a predetermined number of persons that is preliminary allowed to disclose such images, thereby, protecting copyright.
2. Description of Related Art
Like the recent service typically represented by i-mode, (by NTT Docomo), not only the mere communication service to conventional subscriber telephones but also a distribution service of contents to mobile phones from a contents server are being vigorously offered to mobile phones.
Of these services, there is the service of disclosing, for example, characters and images of illustrations to specific persons only. HTML mails are listed as a typical example. The HTML mail can disclose not only documents but also images matched with seasons or illustrations such as favorite comic-book characters together with a message, to only specific persons and is popular because of its high taste-oriented property.
However, in the conventional services, whether or not a person requesting the disclosure of an image is the same as a specific person authorized to view images cannot be assured at the time of image disclosure. If the identification information (storage location) on an image to be disclosed become available, persons other than specific authorized persons may obtain the image based on the identification information. That is, if the number of persons authorized in image disclosure is limited to five, persons more than five may illegally obtain images, since illustration contained in such image ought to be copyrighted.
The present invention is made to overcome the above-mentioned problems.
An objective of the present invention is to provide an image disclosure system capable of preventing images created using copyrighted illustrations from being disclosed to persons more than the limited number of persons authorized in image disclosure.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an image disclosure method capable of preventing images created using copyrighted illustrations from being disclosed to persons more than the limited number of persons authorized in image disclosure.
In order to achieve the objectives, the present invention provides an image disclosure system, wherein an image displayed in a predetermined programming language by a user is disclosed to a specific person. The image disclosure system comprises a mobile communication network; a plurality of mobile phones connected to the mobile communication network; a gateway server connected to the plurality of mobile phones via the mobile communication network; a network; and a contents server connected to the gateway server via the network.
Each of the plurality of mobile phones includes a display for displaying images; means for transmitting an image disclosure to the contents server, the image disclosure request to which identification information on a disclosure requested image is added, and then downloading the image; and an image controller for displaying the downloaded image to the display.
The gateway server includes a user identifier table in which an intrinsic identifier and a user identifier paired with the intrinsic identifier is described in a one-to-one correspondence; and means for receiving an image disclosure request from a mobile phone, retrieving a user identifier corresponding to the intrinsic identifier of the mobile phone from the user identifier table; converting the intrinsic identifier of the mobile phone into a retrieved user identifier, and transmitting the image disclosure request from the mobile phone to the contents server.
The contents server includes a memory for storing an image to be disclosed; a database including records each being formed of an identification information field in which identification information for identifying an image to be disclosed is described and a user identifier field in which a user identifier is described; means for creating identification information on an image to be disclosed; data base updating means for adding records corresponding to the number of persons authorized in disclosure to the database and describing image identification information to the identification information field of each of the added records; retrieving means for, when a mobile phone sends an image disclosure request, retrieving a record which has an identification information field in which image identification information added to a disclosure request is described; and a disclosure controller.
The disclosure controller, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone coincides with a user identifier described on the identifier field of any one of the retrieved records, reads out a disclosure requested image out of the memory and then transmitting it to the mobile phone.
Moreover, the disclosure controller, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with user identifiers described on the identifier fields of the retrieved records and when there is a record of which a user identifier is not described on an identifier field, among the retrieved records, describes the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone in the identifier field of any one of records in which no user identifier is described and then reads out a disclosure requested image from the memory and then transmits it to the mobile phone.
Moreover, the disclosure controller, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with the user identifiers described in the identifier fields of the retrieved records and when an user identifier is described in all the identifiers of the retrieved records, inhibits image disclosure, without transmitting a disclosure requested image.
In the image disclosure system, the contents server comprises means for acquiring information on a specific person authorized in image disclosure from a mobile phone of a disclosure requesting person; and means for transmitting identification information on an image to be disclosed to a mobile phone of the specific person, based on the information on the specific person acquired.
In the image disclosure system, a member record in which the user identifier of a mobile phone of a service member is described in a user identifier field is previously stored in the database. The system further comprises database updating means for, when a specific person authorized in image disclosure is a service member, describing identification information on an image to be disclosed in the identification information field of a member record of the service member.
In the image disclosure system, information on a storage destination storing an image is used as image identification information.
An another aspect of the present invention provides an image disclosure system wherein an image displayed in a predetermined programming language by a user is disclosed to a specific person. The image disclosure system comprises a mobile communication network; a plurality of mobile phones connected to the mobile communication network; a gateway server connected to the plurality of mobile phones via the mobile communication network; a network; a contents server connected to the gateway server via the network; and a mail server for transmitting an electronic mail to the mobile phone.
Each of the plurality of mobile phones includes a display for displaying images; an electronic mail receiver for receiving an electronic mail to which image identification information is added; means for transmitting an image disclosure request to the contents server, the image disclosure request to which the image identification information is added, and then downloading an image; and an image controller for displaying the downloaded image to the display.
The gateway server includes a user identifier table in which an intrinsic identifier of a mobile phone and a user identifier paired with the intrinsic identifier are described in a one-to-one correspondence; and means for receiving an image disclosure request from a mobile phone, retrieving a user identifier corresponding to the intrinsic identifier of the mobile phone from the user identifier table, converting the intrinsic identifier of the mobile phone into a retrieved user identifier, and transmitting the image disclosure request from the mobile phone to the contents server.
The contents server includes a memory for storing an image to be disclosed; a database including records each being formed of an identification information field in which identification information for identifying an image to be disclosed is described and a user identifier field in which a user identifier is described; means for creating identification information on an image to be disclosed; means for transmitting an electronic mail to which identification information on the created image is added, to a specific person authorized in image disclosure; data base updating means for adding records corresponding to the number of persons authorized in image disclosure to the database and describing the identification information of the image to the identification information field of each of the records added, retrieving means for, when a mobile phone sends an image disclosure request, retrieving a record in which image identification information added to a disclosure request is described in the identification information field; and a disclosure controller.
The disclosure controller, when the user identifier of the disclosure requiring mobile phone coincides with a user identifier described on the identifier field of any one of the retrieved records, reads out an image specified with the image identification information from the memory and then transmits it to the mobile phone.
Moreover, the disclosure controller, when the user identifier of the disclosure requiring mobile phone does not coincide with a user identifier described on the identifier fields of the retrieved records and when there are records in which user identifiers are not described in an identifier field, among the retrieved records, describes the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone in the identifier field of any one of records in which user identifiers are not described and then reads out an image specified with the image identification information from the memory and then transmits it to the mobile phone.
Moreover, the disclosure controller, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with user identifiers described in the identifier fields of the retrieved records and when the user identifier is described in all the identifiers of the retrieved records, inhibits image disclosure, without transmitting a disclosure requested image.
In the image disclosure system, each of the mobile phones comprises means for creating an image to be disclosed and means for transmitting the created image and information on specific persons authorized in disclosure of the created image, to the contents server; and the contents server comprises means for receiving the created image and storing it into the memory and means for notifying the database updating means of the number of persons authorized in disclosure based on information on the specific person.
In the image disclosure system, the database stores a member record in which the user identifier of a mobile phone of a service member is described in a user identifier field. The database updating means, when a specific person authorized in image disclosure is a service member, describes identification information on an image to be disclosed in the identification information field of the member record of the service member.
In the image disclosure system, information on a storage destination storing an image is used as image identification information.
In the image disclosure system, the contents server comprises an image data memory for storing image data used to create an image to be disclosed and means for reading out a desired image data from the image data memory, in response to an image creation request from a mobile phone and then transmitting it to the mobile phone. Each of the mobile phones comprises means for requesting image data to the contents server, acquiring image data, creating an image to be disclosed, with the acquired image data, and transmitting the created image and a mail address of a specific person being an image disclosure destination, to the contents server.
In the image disclosure system, the gateway server comprises a type information table in which an intrinsic identifier of a mobile phone and type information of the mobile phone are described in a one-to-one correspondence and means for retrieving the type information of the mobile phone from the type information table, in response to a request from the mobile phone, based on an intrinsic identifier added to the request, adding the type information to the request, and then transmitting the added information. The contents server comprises image data memory for storing image data used for image creation for every type of mobile phones and means for reading out image data corresponding to the type information added to the request from the image data memory and then transmitting it to the mobile phone.
In further another aspect, the present invention provides an contents server in an image disclosure system. The contents server discloses an image displayed in a predetermined programming language by a user, to a specific person. The image disclose system includes a mobile communication network, a plurality of mobile phones connected to the mobile communication network, a gateway server connected to the plurality of mobile phones via the mobile communication network, a network, and a contents server connected to the gateway server via the network. The gateway server, when the mobile phone transmits a request to the contents server, convert an intrinsic identifier of a mobile phone added to the request into a user identifier corresponding to the intrinsic identifier and then transmits the request to the contents server.
The contents server comprises a memory for storing the image to be disclosed; a database including records each being formed of an identification information field in which identification information for identifying an image to be disclosed is described and a user identifier field in which a user identifier is described; means for creating identification information on an image to be disclosed; data base updating means for adding records corresponding to the number of persons authorized in image disclosure to the database and describing the image identification information in the identification information field of each of the records added; retrieving means for retrieving records in which identification information on an image added to a disclosure request is described in an identification information field, in response to an image disclosure request from a mobile phone; and a disclosure controller.
The disclosure controller, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone coincides with a user identifier described in the identifier field of any one of the retrieved records, reads out a disclosure requested image from the memory and then transmits it to the mobile phone.
The disclosure controller, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile does not coincide with a user identifier described in the identifier fields of the retrieved records and when there are records in which a user identifier is not described in an identifier field, among the retrieved records, describes the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone in the identifier field of any one of records in which user identifiers are not described.
The disclosure controller reads out a disclosure requested image from the memory, transmits it to the mobile phone, and then, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with the user identifiers described in the identifier fields of the retrieved records and when a user identifier is described in all the identifier fields of all of the retrieved records, inhibits image disclosure, without transmitting a disclosure requested image.
The contents server further comprises means for acquiring an image to be disclosed and information on the number of persons authorized in image disclosure, from a mobile phone of a disclosure requesting person.
The contents server further comprising means for acquiring information on a person authorized in image disclosure from a mobile phone of a disclosure requiring person and means for transmitting the identification information on an image to be disclosed to the mobile phone of the specific person, based on information on the acquired specific person.
In the contents server, the database stores a member record in which a user identifier of a mobile phone of a service member is described in a user identifier field. The contents server further comprises database updating means for, when a specific person authorized in image disclosure is a service member, describing identification information on an image to be disclosed in the identification information field of a member record of the service member.
In the image disclosure system, information on a storage destination storing an image is used as image identification information.
In another aspect, the present invention provides an image disclosure method, where in an image displayed in a predetermined programming languages by a user is disclosed to a specific person in an network system. The network system includes a mobile communication network; a plurality of mobile phones connected to the mobile communication network; a gateway server connected to the plurality of mobile phones via the mobile communication network; a network; a contents server connected to the gateway server via the network, and a mail server for transmitting an electronic mail to the mobile phones.
The image disclosure method comprises the steps of creating image identification information for identifying an image to be disclosed, by means of the contents server; adding, by means of the contents server, records corresponding to the number of persons authorized in image disclosure to a database and then describing the image identification information in the identification information field of each of the added records, the data base including records each being formed of an identification information field in which the image identification information is described and a user identification field in which a user identifier is described; transmitting an image disclosure request to which image identification information on a disclosure required image is added, to the contents server by means of the mobile phone; converting, by means of the gateway server, the intrinsic identifier of the mobile phone added to an image disclosure request and then transmitting the image disclosure request to the contents server; receiving, by means of the contents server, an image disclosure request from the mobile phone and then retrieving a record in which image identification information added to the disclosure request is described in an identification information field; transmitting, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone coincides with a user identifier described in the identifier field of any one of the retrieved records, a disclosure required image to the mobile phones by means of the contents server; describing, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with a user identifier described in the identifier fields of the retrieved records and when there are records in which a user identifier is not described in an identifier field, among the retrieved records, the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone in the identifier field of any one of records in which user identifiers are not described and then transmitting a disclosure required image to the mobile phone; and inhibiting, when the user identifier of said disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with the user identifier described in the identifier fields of the retrieved records and when an user identifier is described on the identifiers of all of the retrieved records, image disclosure by means of the contents server, without transmitting a disclosure requested image.
The image disclosure method further comprises the step of acquiring an image to be disclosed and information on the number of persons authorized in image disclosure from a mobile phone of a disclosure requesting person.
The image disclosure method further comprises the steps of acquiring information on a specific person authorized in image disclosure from a personal phone of a disclosure requesting person; and transmitting image identification information on an image to be disclosed to a mobile phone of the specific person, based on the information on the acquired specific person.
The image disclosure method further comprises the steps of information on a storage destination storing an image to be disclosed is used as image identification information.
The image disclosure method further comprises the steps of previously storing to the database a member record in which the user identifier of a mobile phone of a service member is described in a user identifier field; and describing, when a specific person authorized in image disclosure is a service member, image identification information on an image to be disclosed in the identification information field of the member record, without newly adding a record.
The present invention provide an image disclosure system wherein an image displayed in a predetermined programming language by a user is disclosed to a specific person, comprising: a mobile communication network; a plurality of mobile phones connected to said mobile communication network; a gateway server connected to said plurality of mobile phones via said mobile communication network; a network; and a contents server connected to said gateway server via said network; said plurality of mobile phones each including: a display for displaying images; a processor is configured to transmit an image disclosure to said contents server, said image disclosure request to which identification information on a disclosure requested image is added, and then downloading said image; and to display said downloaded image to said display; said gateway server including: a user identifier table in which an intrinsic identifier and a user identifier paired with said intrinsic identifier is described in a one-to-one correspondence; and a processor is configured to receive an image disclosure request from a mobile phone, retrieving a user identifier corresponding to the intrinsic identifier of said mobile phone from said user identifier table; convert said intrinsic identifier of said mobile phone into a retrieved user identifier, and transmit the image disclosure request from said mobile phone to said contents server; said contents server including: a memory for storing an image to be disclosed; a database including records each being formed of an identification information field in which identification information for identifying an image to be disclosed is described and a user identifier field in which a user identifier is described; a processor is configured to create identification information on an image to be disclosed; add records corresponding to the number of persons authorized in disclosure to said database and describe image identification information to the identification information field of each of said added records; retrieve a record which has an identification information field in which image identification information added to a disclosure request is described when a mobile phone sends an image disclosure request; when the user identifier of said disclosure requesting mobile phone coincides with a user identifier described on the identifier field of any one of said retrieved records, read out a disclosure requested image out of said memory and then transmitting it to said mobile phone; when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with user identifiers described on the identifier fields of said retrieved records and when there is a record of which a user identifier is not described on an identifier field, among said retrieved records, describe the user identifier of said disclosure requesting mobile phone in the identifier field of any one of records in which no user identifier is described and then reading out a disclosure requested image from said memory and then transmitting it to said mobile phone; when the user identifier of said disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with the user identifiers described in the identifier fields of said retrieved records and when an user identifier is described in all the identifiers of said retrieved records, reject image disclosure.
The processor of the contents server is further configured to: acquire information on a specific person authorized in image disclosure from a mobile phone of a disclosure requesting person; and transmit identification information on an image to be disclosed to a mobile phone of said specific person, based on said information on said specific person acquired.
In another aspect of the invention, a member record in which the user identifier of a mobile phone of a service member is described in a user identifier field is previously stored in said database; and the processor of the contents server is further configured to, when a specific person authorized in image disclosure is a service member, describe identification information on an image to be disclosed in the identification information field of a member record of said service member.
The information on a storage destination storing an image is used as image identification information.
The present invention provide an contents server in an image disclosure system, said contents server disclosing an image displayed in a predetermined programming language by a user, to a specific person, said image disclose system including a mobile communication network, a plurality of mobile phones connected to said mobile communication network, a gateway server connected to said plurality of mobile phones via said mobile communication network, a network, and a contents server connected to said gateway server via said network; said gateway server, when said mobile phone transmits a request to said contents server, converting an intrinsic identifier of a mobile phone added to said request into a user identifier corresponding to said intrinsic identifier and then transmitting said request to said contents server; said contents server comprises: a memory for storing said image to be disclosed; a database including records each being formed of an identification information field in which identification information for identifying an image to be disclosed is described and a user identifier field in which a user identifier is described; a processor is configured to create identification information on an image to be disclosed, add records corresponding to the number of persons authorized in image disclosure to said database and describing the image identification information in the identification information field of each of said records added, retrieve records in which identification information on an image added to a disclosure request is described in an identification information field, in response to an image disclosure request from a mobile phone, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile phone coincides with a user identifier described in the identifier field of any one of said retrieved records, read out a disclosure requested image from said memory and then transmitting it to said mobile phone, when the user identifier of the disclosure requesting mobile does not coincide with a user identifier described in the identifier fields of said retrieved records and when there are records in which a user identifier is not described in an identifier field, among said retrieved records, describe the user identifier of said disclosure requesting mobile phone in the identifier field of any one of records in which user identifiers are not described, and read out a disclosure requested image from said memory, transmitting it to said mobile phone, and then, when the user identifier of said disclosure requesting mobile phone does not coincide with the user identifiers described in the identifier fields of said retrieved records and when a user identifier is described in all the identifier fields of all of said retrieved records, inhibiting image disclosure, without transmitting a disclosure requested image.
The processor of the contents server is further configured to acquire an image to be disclosed and information on the number of persons authorized in image disclosure, from a mobile phone of a disclosure requesting person.
The processor of the contents server is further configured to acquire information on a person authorized in image disclosure from a mobile phone of a disclosure requiring person and means for transmitting the identification information on an image to be disclosed to the mobile phone of said specific person, based on information on said acquired specific person.
In another aspect of the invention, the database stores a member record in which a user identifier of a mobile phone of a service member is described in a user identifier field; and said processor of said contents server is further configured to, when a specific person authorized in image disclosure is a service member, describe identification information on an image to be disclosed in the identification information field of a member record of said service member.
The information on a storage destination storing an image is used as image identification information.